| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Group email: | Local History group |
| When: | On Tuesday mornings 2nd Tuesday of the month at 10:00 |
| Venue: | Hazlemere Memorial Hall |
Working with members in selecting future talks and activities
Membership of this Group could be your opportunity to appreciate the area in which we all live.
Our Group undertakes research in and around High Wycombe and the Thames Valley.
We explore the history of High Wycombe, individual houses, local families, villages and industries as well as museums, and local heritage sites. Even place names and streets (such as Gout Road) cannot escape our members. And who knew Dorchester Abbey was formerly a Cathedral?
Future Events in 2026
On Tuesday May 12th from 10am Willie Reid will be giving us one of his talks on the history of our area (details later). You may have have joined us on one of his walks around Wycombe.
On Tuesday June 9th from 10am Steve Strutt will surprise us all by introducing us to the little known story of the history of the former occupants of the property you may remember as Equity and Law. Perhaps you worked there. My wife did and had no idea of the history of the Manor (there's a clue) of where she was actually working.
Visits in 2025 included:
Visit of the Local History Group to an Anglo Saxon monastery
Around fifty of our members found themselves enjoying a visit to an Anglo-Saxon Monastery in Cookham. Many joined us for a first visit four years ago.
The site featured in BBC2’s series on Digging in Britian. On the most recent visit Sandi Tosvig was also filming for a More 4 programme .
Dorchester (on Thames) Abbey
Guided tour, organ recital and tea.
The Christian message has been spread from Dorchester’s Saxon Cathedral, from its medieval monastic Abbey and from today’s Parish Church, all combined in this beautiful building, over a period of almost fourteen hundred years.
Private visit to Penn House
Members were welcomed by Lord and Lady Howe, and were shown around the house and garden.
Built circa 1760, for Assheton Curzon (1730-1820), M.P., 1st Viscount Curzon, who knocked down the existing Tudor mansion to build this comparatively modest red brick manor house.
St Michael & All Angels, Hughenden Parish Church
(Guided tour, organ recital and tea)
Our guide explained how a church on this site in the twelfth century was built by Geoffrey de Clinton between 1100 and 1135. Geoffrey or his successor later made over the manor of Hughenden, including the church, to the priory of Kenilworth.
It seems that the monks established a small priory in what is now Church House, where our tea was served
Tuesday 9th December 2025
A facinating talk from the High Wycombe Society.
Setting up the Royal Military College in High Wycombe.
Past meetings in 2026
Tuesday 13th January
Buckinghamshire People: In the footsteps of Sir George Gilbert Scott (and family).
In the footsteps of Sir George Gilbert Scott, arguably, Buckinghamshire’s’ greatest architect
Tuesday 10th February
Paul’s early research into “Local Family firms in the Furniture Industry’.
Tuesday l0th March
Tuesday 10th March 10am Olney-Market Town. Cowper and Newton Museum and
John North of Olney and the execution of his daughter in the Salem Witch Trials
Tuesday 14th April
'The Bisham Abbey story from the Civil War to the Olympics'.
Simon talked about how part of the Bisham Estate was given to the nation for a national sports centre, now used by our Olympic teams. It was donated in memory of the last two potential heirs who died in the Second World War. Simon showed their interesting family background including a Lord Lieutenant of Bucks and Lord of the Manor of Marlow who deserted during the English Civil War.
We continue to focus on suggestions and contributions of our members. If you want to join us, please contact: gilliamph@aol.com